Published: Thursday, December 26, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, December 26, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.

She knows her daughter left for school. She knows her head was pounding. She knows she called her coworkers and told them she'd be late.

But she can barely recall anything else that happened on March 28, 2012. Almost two years later, she finally knows why.

Part of her brain was exploding.

Parris is one of thousands of people in the United States who have a ruptured brain aneurysm. In layman's terms, a brain aneurysm is a bulge in a brain artery. If an aneurysm ruptures, as hers did, the brain can bleed and swell. About 20 percent of people with a ruptured aneurysm will die, and about 30 percent of survivors will be left with disabilities.

That's not Parris' story. She's working at Cape Fear Community College and taking care of her daughter at their home in Hampstead, doing things much like she did them before that day in March. But Parris has found that few people know about the dangers of brain aneurysms until someone they love has a morning they can't remember. She wants to change that, and after receiving a proclamation from Gov. Pat McCrory declaring that North Carolina will recognize September as Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month, she's well on her way.

Parris can remember the full story of her own brain aneurysm now, piecing together what she's heard from family members and doctors. That March morning, when her aneurysm ruptured, she had a seizure and severe convulsions. She tried twice to call 911 but could only manage to hit redial, calling a friend she'd seen the night before and begging her for help.

Parris was airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and kept unconscious while doctors tried to find the bleeding in her head. When Parris woke up three days later, her doctors still hadn't found the bleed. Parris had to stay in Chapel Hill for a full month while doctors monitored her behavior, helped her regain strength and waited to search again for her bleed.

Parris was recovering well. Doctors were telling her she was a miracle. But she couldn't understand why she was having to go through this experience. When Parris tells this part of the story, she starts to cry.

While she was in the hospital, "I missed my daughter's birthday for the first time," she said. "I was thinking, ‘Lord, why? Why me?' I was brought up in church. I try to be a good person. I kept thinking, ‘What am I going to do?'"

During that time, before one of Parris' surgeries – doctors' third attempt to find the ruptured aneurysm in her brain – Parris started to pray.

"I was falling to my knees at the foot of my bed, saying, ‘God, if you will spare me, I will do whatever I can to help others,'" she said.

A few minutes later, with her body numb but her mind awake, Parris watched on a small screen as her doctor navigated to a cloudy spot in her brain.

"He said, ‘Tammie girl, I have found your bleed," Parris said.

Parris was ecstatic. Now, she had to keep her bedside promise.

Parris started contacting mayors of nearby towns and cities, asking them to pass proclamations asking Gov. Pat McCrory to name September as Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month in North Carolina. Currently, only 17 states have designated September as the time for brain aneurysm awareness.

On Dec. 6, she got North Carolina added to that list and received a copy of McCrory's proclamation from Rep. Chris Millis, R-Pender, in a ceremony at CFCC. She also recently learned that she'll be traveling to Washington, D.C., next year to ask lawmakers to make September National Brain Awareness Month. She hopes that will educate people about the symptoms when an aneurysm ruptures and encourage them to get tested to see if they have an aneurysm.

Parris sees her work as a way to show she's grateful for her good health. In her return visits to her doctors, she learned that further surgeries to repair her aneurysm had been successful. She'll be formally discharged from doctors' care in June.

But not all brain aneurysm patients are so lucky. Parris has spoken to hundreds of people whose friends and family members have died from ruptured aneurysms. She's seen people have to relearn how to walk, talk and feed themselves. She's joined a brain trauma support group at New Hanover Regional Medical Center and realized how lucky she is.

"The other folks (in the group) have physical impairments you can see," she said. "There are things they battle every day that I'm not battling."

<p>Tammie Morgan Parris can't remember that morning.</p><p>She knows her daughter left for school. She knows her head was pounding. She knows she called her coworkers and told them she'd be late.</p><p>But she can barely recall anything else that happened on March 28, 2012. Almost two years later, she finally knows why. </p><p>Part of her brain was exploding.</p><p>Parris is one of thousands of people in the United States who have a ruptured brain aneurysm. In layman's terms, a brain aneurysm is a bulge in a brain artery. If an aneurysm ruptures, as hers did, the brain can bleed and swell. About 20 percent of people with a ruptured aneurysm will die, and about 30 percent of survivors will be left with disabilities.</p><p>That's not Parris' story. She's working at <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9937"><b>Cape Fear Community College</b></a> and taking care of her daughter at their home in Hampstead, doing things much like she did them before that day in March. But Parris has found that few people know about the dangers of brain aneurysms until someone they love has a morning they can't remember. She wants to change that, and after receiving a proclamation from Gov. Pat McCrory declaring that North Carolina will recognize September as Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month, she's well on her way. </p><p>Parris can remember the full story of her own brain aneurysm now, piecing together what she's heard from family members and doctors. That March morning, when her aneurysm ruptured, she had a seizure and severe convulsions. She tried twice to call 911 but could only manage to hit redial, calling a friend she'd seen the night before and begging her for help.</p><p>Parris was airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and kept unconscious while doctors tried to find the bleeding in her head. When Parris woke up three days later, her doctors still hadn't found the bleed. Parris had to stay in Chapel Hill for a full month while doctors monitored her behavior, helped her regain strength and waited to search again for her bleed.</p><p>Parris was recovering well. Doctors were telling her she was a miracle. But she couldn't understand why she was having to go through this experience. When Parris tells this part of the story, she starts to cry.</p><p>While she was in the hospital, "I missed my daughter's birthday for the first time," she said. "I was thinking, 'Lord, why? Why me?' I was brought up in church. I try to be a good person. I kept thinking, 'What am I going to do?'"</p><p>During that time, before one of Parris' surgeries – doctors' third attempt to find the ruptured aneurysm in her brain – Parris started to pray.</p><p>"I was falling to my knees at the foot of my bed, saying, 'God, if you will spare me, I will do whatever I can to help others,'" she said.</p><p>A few minutes later, with her body numb but her mind awake, Parris watched on a small screen as her doctor navigated to a cloudy spot in her brain.</p><p>"He said, 'Tammie girl, I have found your bleed," Parris said.</p><p>Parris was ecstatic. Now, she had to keep her bedside promise. </p><p>Parris started contacting mayors of nearby towns and cities, asking them to pass proclamations asking Gov. Pat McCrory to name September as Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month in North Carolina. Currently, only 17 states have designated September as the time for brain aneurysm awareness.</p><p>On Dec. 6, she got North Carolina added to that list and received a copy of McCrory's proclamation from Rep. Chris Millis, R-Pender, in a ceremony at CFCC. She also recently learned that she'll be traveling to Washington, D.C., next year to ask lawmakers to make September National Brain Awareness Month. She hopes that will educate people about the symptoms when an aneurysm ruptures and encourage them to get tested to see if they have an aneurysm.</p><p>Parris sees her work as a way to show she's grateful for her good health. In her return visits to her doctors, she learned that further surgeries to repair her aneurysm had been successful. She'll be formally discharged from doctors' care in June.</p><p>But not all brain aneurysm patients are so lucky. Parris has spoken to hundreds of people whose friends and family members have died from ruptured aneurysms. She's seen people have to relearn how to walk, talk and feed themselves. She's joined a brain trauma support group at <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9969"><b>New Hanover Regional Medical Center</b></a> and realized how lucky she is.</p><p>"The other folks (in the group) have physical impairments you can see," she said. "There are things they battle every day that I'm not battling."</p><p>They can't speak for themselves. So Parris will speak for them.</p><p>"I'm their foot soldier," she said.</p><p>Pressley Baird: 343-2328</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PressleyBaird</p>